denied he's confident. >> no, no, governor romney, he's a good debater. i'm just okay. but what i'm most concerned about is having a serious discussion about what we need to do to keep the country growing. >> reporter: while the candidates disappear for debate practice, their campaigns are working harder. pat harper, 79, is a volunteer for president obama. >> he did the best he could, i think, with what he had to work with. >> reporter: she's in waterloo, iowa, in her hometown, a battleground state. pat finds obama backers like kathy gerten. would kathy vote early, pat asks? >> yes. >> reporter: team obama getting votes in the bag, in case the debate goes mitt romney's way. a big swing in the polls is possible. in 2000, al gore was ahead of george w. bush until their debates. gore lost nine points in the polls and he lost the white house. i'm steve handelsman, news4. >>> a white house official acknowledged today that hackers tried to infiltrate the white house computer system. the official said the attack was prevented and that the target was an unclassif